News

Anorexia may be a disease, say scientists

THE eating disorders anorexia nervosa and bulimia, hitherto regarded as purely psychiatric illnesses, may instead have a physical cause, researchers have found.

They have linked the diseases to disruptions in the body’s immune system, which cause it to attack the chemical messengers that control appetite. The research could offer new ways of treating both conditions, which together are thought to affect about 1m people in Britain.

Those who have spoken out about the ravages of bulimia include the late Diana, Princess of Wales, who described how she would binge on food and then make herself sick before restarting the cycle. Geri Halliwell, the former Spice Girl, has also written of her battle with the condition and the lack of any proven therapy.

The new study was carried out at the Karolinska Institute, a respected Swedish research centre. Professor Tomas Hokfelt, one of the researchers, described how his team found that